


a thousand sunsets

by zenospenos



Series: "gifts" [1]
Category: Final Fantasy XIV
Genre: F/M, Fingering, Intimacy, Marriage Proposal, Nipple Play, Private Marriage, Tender Sex, Tenderness
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-24
Updated: 2021-02-24
Packaged: 2021-03-15 03:59:47
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,129
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29678079
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zenospenos/pseuds/zenospenos
Summary: Thancred has been meaning to ask Areli a question for a long time.
Relationships: Warrior of Light/Thancred Waters
Series: "gifts" [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2181336
Comments: 4
Kudos: 7





	a thousand sunsets

**Author's Note:**

  * For [crypticbruja](https://archiveofourown.org/users/crypticbruja/gifts).



> This is for my friend Kai! 
> 
> Their Warrior of Light is named Areli Nazrihaan, and uses xe/xem/xyr pronouns.

The setting sun in Gyr Abania was always such a beautiful thing. The intricate colors that painted across the sky, the gentle rays peeking over the horizon, the way that the Ala Mhigan banner reflected the richest kind of light from its violet weave.

Areli stands near the window of xyr temporary home and sighs dreamily, the painterly sight being the one thing keeping xem from truly fraying at the seams. 

Thancred said he would return from his expedition by the noon hour, and yet he hasn’t shown around the Ala Mhigan Quarter since then. Perhaps xyr lover got tied up somewhere in a Garlean outpost, or even captured and beaten and killed--

_ No.  _ Xe thinks, xyr fist absentmindedly curling into a ball as it rests on the windowsill.  _ Thancred was much too talented to be caught by anyone, much less a Garlean Pilus Prior, or any of their cowardly men who were too busy shoving steel down people’s throats to actually think about what they’re fighting for..  _

“Easy now,” A familiar voice brings xem back from the spiraling rumination, and Areli gasps softly as xe feels a calloused hand rest gently on xyr shoulder. 

Thancred smiles, his snowy-white hair falling into his eyes as he looks up at xem. 

“You’ll probably burst a vein clenching everything like that.” 

“ _ Thancred! _ ” Areli gasps, and within moments xyr arms are wrapped around the Hyur, holding him tight to xyr chest while the setting sun filters in through the room. 

“I-- er, I was wondering if-- Twelve, Areli-” Thancred coughs, reluctantly hooking his own arms around xyr shoulders and chuckling, “I apologize for my lateness, I had to see to things before returning home to you. Important business, mind you.” 

Xe frowns despite the lightheartedness xey sensed in his tone of voice, running xyr fingers through his hair as if xe hasn’t seen him for moons. 

“What do you mean, my love?” Xe asks, xyr voice a low whisper. Surely nothing could be worse than what xe’s already been though. ‘ _ Important Official Scion Business _ ’ was no longer an excuse he could make, and surely if something was so important that xe didn’t know about it..

“I wanted to ask you a question, and I wanted to wait until nightfall to do so.” Thancred says with a quick smile, his tone reassuring as he steps away from xem for a brief moment. 

What was going on? Areli’s ears twitched frustratedly, the silence hanging thickly between them. 

“Thancred, I don’t--” 

“Areli.” He says, silver eyes gleaming as he fishes around in his pocket. “I have been wanting to ask you for moons, nay.  _ Years.  _ And every time I planned on it, you have simply blown me away from asking you properly.” 

Xe eyes the glinting copper ring in his hand as he holds it out to her, and tears begin to prick at xyr eyes as a hand comes to cover xyr mouth as it hangs open in joyful surprise. 

“Than--” 

“Areli. For years have we journeyed together, fought together, wined and dined and healed together.” Thancred starts, holding the band closer to xem, as if xe could possibly focus on the intricate detailing he specifically requested from a master goldsmith through all the tears flooding xyr eyes. “I have labored long and hard to make this night special, and I hope you will accept my proposal. Areli Nazrihaan, will you--” 

His speech is cut off as xe jams xyr lips against his, tears rolling down xyr face from the sheer overwhelming emotion of it all. The ring is knocked out of his hand, and though it clings as it bounces off the polished stone floor, it’s the least of their troubles for now. 

“Yes. Yes, a thousand times yes, and so many more after that!” Xe sobs as he pulls away, his chuckles lilting like a bell as he stoops down to pick up the ring that was dropped. 

When xe can get a better look at it, it makes xyr heart swell with adoration, the tiny details hidden in such a tiny band of copper were enough to tell a story. 

Their story. 

As the sun sets, Areli waits by patiently as xe watches Thancred enkindle a small fire and set aside two wooden goblets, rolling the wedding band between xyr fingers. 

He pours the wine with such precision that it starts to make sense why he’s been gone for so long. It’s a special wine, created from Bacchus grapes, which sparks a memory in xyr heart as xe watches him shoot xem a wicked grin. 

Has it really been so long ago that they were bickering over how to destroy a boulder? Over which ways to turn, over the littlest things.. 

How simple it all seems now. 

“I wanted something private, intimate.” Thancred explains as he readies the wine and two vials of sand. Areli turns xyr head confusedly at the strange bottles, but Thancred merely chuckles, setting a bowl in front of the fire. 

“An Ishgardian tradition, though neither of us hold any ties to the culture, but I know your adventures have led you through so much, and I wanted something to reflect it.” He smiles, gesturing to the empty bowl in the center, “It’s called a sand ceremony, and since this is just between us, I figured it would be something romantic.” 

Xe rolls her eyes with a lopsided grin, foot tapping impatiently as xe watches him work. 

When everything is ready, Areli sits xemself by the fire and stares at the woven band that was placed so gently in xyr palm by xyr lover, xyr best friend. How long did it take to make this, to pay for such a thing? Xe looks up at him with widened eyes, returning his kind smile with a nod. 

Thancred hands xem xyr cup of wine and holds out his own for a toast. 

“To you, Areli, the love of my life and the only friend who has been through thick and thin with me.” 

Xe smiles warmly, clinking xyr goblet against his own. 

“To you, Thancred,” Xe starts, “My love, my best friend. May we be through thick and thin together every day afterwards.” 

Hooking their arms around each other, they chuckle as they drink, both of them emptying their goblets with a satisfied sigh of relief. 

“Now,” Thancred grins, motioning to her vial of sand, “Hold up your vial and pour it in when I do.” 

Areli nods, taking the bottle and marveling at the bright scarlet sand that occupied it. 

Thancred cleared his throat, gazing adoringly at his lover, his bride-to-be. 

  
  
  
  


“You are no ordinary person,

You are astonishment itself … the guessing 

at what is to come expectedly. 

How is it that in a moment,

of discovery and inspiration

you extract water from the heart of a stone?

How is it that with the touch of an eyelash,

you turn the solitary moon 

into a thousand crescents?” 

  
  
  
  


Thancred begins to pour the sand into the bowl in front of them, and Areli almost misses the cue entirely, xyr heart overwhelmed with his spoken word. 

Did he… memorize a poem from xyr childhood just for xem? An old Ala Mhigan poem, sounding so brilliant and intimate as it passed through his lips. 

Tears prick through the corners of xyr eyes as xe watches xyr own scarlet sand mix with his pure white, the textures mixing together to create a lighter orange color, the same hue as the burning sunset casting rays of warmth onto the couple as they sat before the fire. 

“Yours, collected from the peaks of Gyr Abania.” Thancred explains, taking xyr hand and squeezing it gently, “Mine, from the dunes of the Sagoli Desert. The place where you were born, and the land where we met. The past, present, and hopefully the future.” 

Areli couldn’t speak, xyr loss for words evident as xe leaned in, hoping to wax poetry into his skin with xyr lips as xe planted a plush kiss on the corner of his mouth. 

“A-Ah, I haven’t even asked if I could kiss the bride.” Thancred chuckles, the tips of his ears turning Dalamud red. 

Areli hums, cupping his jaw with a gentle hand, the point of xyr thumbnail going over the dips and rises of his cheekbones. 

“You may.” Xe sighs, and it's xem that takes the plunge. 

Their kiss is soft and sweet, tasting faintly of beeswax and blackberry. When xe tastes his lips for the first time, xe holds back a snort, the presence of balm on his lips such a foreign thing. 

Xe chuckles when xe pulls away to breathe, licking xyr lips with a ruinous grin. 

“Your lips aren’t chapped. You must truly love me.” 

Thancred gives a short laugh, pulling xem closer by the back of xyr head until their lips meet once again, giving each other a mutual intimacy that had no need to be overpowered by one or the other. 

His lips travel down, the fire crackling before them as he kisses down xyr throat, leaving little lovebites in the soft skin. Calloused hands dexterously unbutton Areli’s blouse, cupping a breast and running a thumb over the peak of xyr flesh. 

Areli lets out a soft whine, digging xyr nails into his shoulders as he works at xem. 

He continues down, worshipping every part of xyr body with his hands, his mouth, the vibrations of his gentle hums reverberating through xyr skin, gooseflesh littering xyr body. 

He stops just at the belt of xyr trousers, looking up at his flushed lover,  _ no,  _ his wife. 

Xe nods, a throaty moan escaping through xyr throat. 

“Please, Thancred--” 

That was all he needed to hear. 

He’s careful as he unbuckles xyr belt, sliding down the waistline of xyr bottoms and exposing xyr slickness to the evening air, the coolness sending a shiver down xyr spine along with the snaps of the heat from the fire. 

“My  _ wife, _ ” He mutters into xyr skin, “I want to love you with my entire being until I turn to dust. I want to hold you in my arms and listen to your heart beat deep betwixt your breasts, I want--” 

Xe shushes him, combing xyr fingers through his shaggy hair as xyr breath hitches with the first touch against the slickness between xyr thighs. 

His finger comes to rub at the cleft of xyr sex, the sensitive pearl of nerves sending bolts of electric levin up xyr spine. Softly, gently, his thumb applies the barest hint of pressure to it, dipping the first joint of his index into xyr wanton sex as he rolls over that gold piercing that peeked through the hood of xyr clit. 

“My  _ Lady,  _ I am nothing like

your other lovers.”

His finger slides in with ease, rubbing along that front wall that made Areli moan with want and intimate lust. 

“If another gave you a cloud,

I will give you the rain.”

Another finger is added, and the gasps of pleasure that escape through xyr chest is enough to prod him to keep going, to give xem the carnal pleasures xe deserved. 

The heat that built up inside xyr core left a small sheen of sweat over the planes, dips, and curves of xyr body. Thancred’s free hand came up to caress xyr breast, pressing a kiss to xyr nipple as he toyed with her other one between his fingers. 

“If he gave you a lantern, 

I will give you the moon.”

Areli quivers, muttering out his name with such fervor when he slides in a third finger, caressing the inside of xyr walls. 

Xe was so close already, and xe knew he could tell by the way xyr toes curled inwards, the gasps escaping from xyr throat as xe struggled to breathe behind the pleasure he was gifting to xem. 

“If he gave you a branch,

I will give you the trees.”

  
  


Such pleasure, such carnal pleasure.. 

Areli finds xemself on the peak of an orgasm before xe could form a coherent thought, crying out as xyr husband gently bit down on xyr nipple, sending bolts of pleasure throughout xyr body as he ran his fingers over that spot inside of xem again and again and again. 

Thancred watches his wife release with a smile, removing his mouth from xyr nipple and pressing a kiss against xyr collarbone, relishing in the noises that escaped xem from such beautiful, intimate pleasure. 

He removes his fingers from xyr sex, licking them clean in front of xem and wrapping his arms around his beautiful, beautiful wife. 

When he speaks, Areli can barely listen, xyr heart pumping viciously as his voice echoes inside of xyr heart. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  


“And if another gave you a ship, 

I will give you the journey.”

**Author's Note:**

> The poems used in this fic are by Nizar Qabbani. They are A Thousand Moons and Love Compared.


End file.
